I love this warm Asian salad, which you can make in large batches and reheat the next day. It will lose its crunch, but is still delicious. It’s a sort of quick, easy, no-carbohydrate nasi goreng, using zucchini and carrot instead of noodles.
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon coconut or vegetable oil
- 4 boned and skinned chicken thighs or chicken breasts, preferably free range, sliced into 1cm strips
- 3 shallots, finely sliced lengthways
- 1 red capsicum, deseeded and finely sliced lengthways
For the paste
- 1 garlic clove
- 3cm piece of fresh root ginger
- 1 teaspoon shrimp paste
- 1 red chilli, seeds kept in if you like it fiery
- 1 shallot, finely diced
- 1 teaspoon honey
For the ‘noodles’
- 3 large zucchini, excess water squeezed out
- 2 large carrots, peeled
For the sauce
- 1 teaspoon honey
- splash of fish sauce
- 2 limes, zested and juiced
Method
Begin by making the paste. Blitz all the ingredients together in a food processor until a coarse paste is formed.
Melt the coconut oil in a wok or large frying pan. Add the chicken strips and shallots and fry for about five minutes until cooked through. Then add the paste and cook for two minutes, until the chicken is well coated. Add the pepper and cook for two minutes. Put the chicken mix into a bowl and put to one side.
Using a grater or a julienne peeler, make the vegetable noodles (or you can cut the zucchini into very thin slices and then into strips). Put in a separate bowl to the chicken.
For the sauce, in a small jug, whisk the honey, fish sauce, lime zest and juice. Pour over the vegetable noodles, mix well and leave to ‘cook’ the vegetables for a couple of minutes.
Just before serving, mix the chicken with the noodles. This salad stores quite well in the fridge for 24 hours.
Serving suggestions
Top with one of these:
- fresh coriander, roughly chopped
- crushed peanuts
- 150g beansprouts
Recipe taken from Good Good Food by Sarah Raven
In her latest cookbook, Sarah Raven brings together her medical knowledge and love of seasonal food to explain exactly how and why certain ingredients help protect your body and give you the best possible chance of a longer, healthier life. With more than 250 recipes, including coconut sugar marmalade, spiced aubergine salad with pomegranate raita, lemon chicken and summer herb salad, cashew hummus, black bean burritos, blood orange sorbet and basil yoghurt ice cream, there’s plenty of inspiration, whether you’re cooking for friends or making quick weekday lunchboxes for the family. What’s more, Sarah includes 100 mini ‘superfood’ biographies, where she draws on her expertise and experience to explain the science behind good-for-you ingredients such as kale, broccoli, salmon, red wine, blueberries, apples and seeds.
You can purchase Good Good Food at cooked.com.
Published by Hardie Grant Books.
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